o P inion

City mishandled Highway 4 sound wall

Editor:

The city of Brentwood had approved the extension of the sound wall by the City council in February, 2022 in the Siena community on the newly constructed Highway 4 Bypass that was opened to the public in July 2018.

Residents for the last five years have been following up with the state Assembly, city and Caltrans to address the Highway 4 noise issue that the residents have been suffering. It was determined that the city never followed the proper guidelines to reduce the noise level, and none of the standards were followed for mitigations.

The sound wall near the ramp is at the lowest level.

The council members newly elected in November 2022 want to block the project that was already approved and funded. The project was funded for $600,000 but the tender bid was received for $435,000 – much less than what was projected to extend the sound wall.

Please watch the City Council video from 2:48:02 to 2:51 to see how the newly elected Tony Oerlemans behaves badly with the Mayor of Brentwood on the live telecast of the City Council meeting and use inappropriate words. He has no control over his anger. You can also hear how the public commented on this issue in the meeting.

Sukumar Dash Brentwood

Skateboarding culture stereotype not what it seems

Editor:

Pop, crack, scrape, curse and repeat. These are the sounds of skating, and most will find this unappealing, being full of delinquents and low GPA students. But that is an old idea of the stereotypical skater.

Publisher Greg Robinson Controller Sandie McNulty

Editor Chris Campos

Production Manager Eric Kinnaird

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Founder & Publisher Emeritus Jimmy Chamoures

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Letters to the editor

Skateboarding is a counterculture; it is supposed to be against the norms of society and be different. But being a counterculture does not mean they can gatekeep to keep the “normies” out of their closed-off culture. It is supposed to be different and accepting to people of all colors, backgrounds, boards, and genders. But in recent times, skating has been discouraged by the community, leaving out people who are just starting, different board styles, or even ones who wear different clothing.

Quoting KCR’s article; Stirring the Pot Gatekeeping in the Skateboarding Community, “I just don’t know why I should feel like I’m judged for that. It shouldn’t matter how good I am, just that I enjoy it.”

The core idea of skating is to better yourself and, yes, to do cooler tricks. We all must start somewhere, and the community expects you to be in a specific shell. Some may say that people should gatekeep to keep it out of the mainstream. The mainstream seems like a big fear to most skaters; the concept of the community is alternative, staying away and keeping the mainstream by gatekeeping can be a solution to some.

Adachi Tohru Oakley

The struggle of first-generation Americans

Editor:

In the relentless cycle of being unable to appease everyone, the sting of judgment comes from all sides. Too American to their family, not American enough to their peers. Life in the inbetween for a first-generation American is a constant losing battle.

Though first-generation Americans, the first of their family to become a citizen in another country or the first to be born to immigrant parents, face many challenges due to growing up in a different country than their parents did, assimilating to American culture creates

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Send correspondence to The Press, 248 Oak St., Brentwood, California, 94513; or email editor@ brentwoodpress.com.

cultural differences within their family that become their greatest challenge.

Growing up, many first-generation Americans follow American cultural practices more than the ones of their parents’ homeland, resulting in some first-generation Americans lacking connection to their home country. Cultural differences between a child and their parents can cause the child to not know where they belong.

Some argue that not knowing where they belong happens to everyone. However, the expectation to understand and contribute to two different cultures creates a burden upon the shoulders of many first-generation adolescents, which further alienates them and can prolong the journey of finding where they belong.

Loujain Habibi Brentwood

The trials of first-born Hispanic daughters

Editor:

Being the child to Hispanic parents brings along many joys and memories. The lives of first-born Hispanic daughters are vastly different to those born after her.

First-born Hispanic daughters often have it rougher growing up than her siblings. There are stigmas that surround her due to cultural norms, gender dynamics, and parent pressure. She learns young that she must perform an excessive number of chores and work. So, do Hispanic daughters exaggerate when it comes to talking about how being the first-born affects them negatively?

Coming from personal experience as a first-born Hispanic daughter, it is an extremely sensitive topic to dismiss because we are being prohibited from our childhoods. We had all this pressure put on us.

Hispanic families may have difficulty breaking generational traditions, but it will help the future generations to grow up better. If the parents are struggling with something in life and one must

City of Brentwood City Manager and City Council

City Hall 150 City Park Way

Brentwood, CA 94513

Phone: 925-516-5440 www.brentwoodca.gov take care of her siblings, parents should consider that they should split the chores at home equally. Teach children how to express their thoughts and opinions. The process will be long, but it will help first-born daughters overall to feel seen and heard by family.

Mia Torres Brentwood LGBTQ+ community needs more legislative representation

Editor:

Should there be more representation for the LGBTQ+ members specifically for teens? In politics, teenagers do not get a say. It affects us, but we have no voice. Anti-LGBTQ+ laws are passed without any input on those they might be affecting. The overturning of Roe vs. Wade left laws about the LGBTQ+ community up to the state.

Some may say that the LGBTQ+ community is a topic that should be only for older age groups. People may even say the LGBTQ+ topic is inappropriate all together. However, once you learn how long people have known that they are not straight, you start to see things differently.

Not only do the anti-LGBTQ+ laws hurt young people’s knowledge it also limits them and has a negative effect on mental health not only of those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community but also their loved ones. The hate that forms these laws are detrimental to LGBTQ+ youth who start to believe no one will support them. Anti-LGBTQ+ laws can even create more opportunities for bullying. Laws like “do not say gay” are vague, to say the least, and extremely harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.

Kids who are 16 are trusted to drive cars, which is trusting them to drive safely. We should lower the voting age to include more of the people affected so we can do something about it. Clearly, protests are not working. And if things are changing, it is for the worse. There should be more representation for LGBTQ+ teens.

Tapanga Lewis Oakley

Government Officials

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County district5@bos.cccounty.us